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172
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C ali forn ia’s Olde st Ne w spaper
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Volume 172 • Issue 112 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
Friday, September 29, 2023
Supervisors burdened by hate speech Eric Jaramishian Staff writer Antisemitic comments engulfed the public forum segment of the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday as individuals expressed their disapproval of the board’s action to rescind its proclamation recognizing July as American Christian Heritage Month.
The board listened as commenters, all through Zoom, barraged the county leaders, stating the Holocaust was a “hoax,” calling Jewish people “vile” and “leeches” and saying “f-ck Jews.” The derogatory comments went on for about half an hour, but did not go without remarks from Board Chair Wendy Thomas, who asked County Counsel David Livingston nearly half way
Program grants amnesty to some building code cases Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
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El Dorado County leaders greenlit a newly implemented code enforcement amnesty program Tuesday in their effort to strike penalties or fees for current or future property owners unaware of unpermitted work previously done. Staff will have about a year before returning to the Board of Supervisors to give an update on implementation of the amnesty program, which helps prevent penalty of parties subject to an open code case due to unpermitted work that took place without their knowledge. The program acts as a courtesy to those potentially impacted by unpermitted work. Specifically, county staff will conduct pre-site inspections to determine the conditions of the property in question. If the site is found to be safe from any health and safety concerns, code enforcement staff will issue a “certificate of compliance.”
That certificate will not only allow the unpermitted work to remain but potential sellers will still be able to conduct real estate transactions. Those types of code cases would become a “low priority” for code enforcement staff and no additional enforcement action will occur even though those particular code cases would remain open. The pre-site inspections will include a $107 fee. Chris Perry, assistant director of the Planning and Building Department, told the board numerous local code cases involve property owners who are unaware they purchased property with work unrecorded by the county. “The only way we break that chain in the future is if the future buyer knows there is an issue with the property, then we won’t have this issue anymore,” Perry said. According to Perry, county staff met with members the El Dorado County Association of Realtors and the South Tahoe Association of Realtors to work out details on how the amnesty program would best keep real estate transactions moving forward. Part of the amnesty program includes county staff working with future buyers and sellers during these transactions to negotiate outcomes to not hold up the sale of a property, even if the property has certain “clouds” on it. A “cloud” is a claim
through the public forum if there were rules on such language being used during board meetings. “That’s just not acceptable,” Thomas said, before Livingston noted that while the comments made were offensive, the county has no rules of conduct regarding hate speech. “I suspect at the end of this discussion you’ll be directing me and other staff members
to consider some policy regarding hate speech at board meetings,” Livingston said. The comments didn’t let up after that dialogue. One commenter out of nearly 10, who claimed to be an El Dorado County resident by the name of Ryan, stated Jewish people were “dirty kikes,” exclaiming “f-ck these kikes that run our government” and ending with
the phrase “white power.” Kim Dawson, clerk of the board, addressed the man as Ryan Messano, who bears the same name as a Solano County man who other media outlets have reported to have made derogatory remarks during a Sacramento City Council meeting in May. Others made offensive comments such as “seig heil,” n See comments, page A8
Great gourds
Mountain Democrat photos by Eric Jaramishian
Father and son duo A.J. and Albert Fausel of Placerville Hardware get in the spirit of the season delivering giant gourds to downtown Placerville businesses. Passing out pumpkins along Main Street has been a long-standing tradition upheld by local icon Davey “Doc” Wiser of the Wiser Overland Stage, who lent his top hat to A.J. for Wednesday’s work. Taking up the mantle since last year, the Fausel family helped place the gourds at Placerville News Company, Old Town Grill, Powell’s Steamer Co., Sierra Mountain Outdoors and Hangtown Cyclery. A.J. decides the next pumpkin to be loaded up from the backroom of Placerville Hardware. One of the gourds will be donated to A.J.’s school, Sierra Elementary School, to be raffled off to fundraise for student activities.
“Cowboy” Wayne watches as Albert and A.J. are hard at work lifting a giant pumpkin into the right spot of Hangtown Cyclery’s window display.
n See amnesty, page A6
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